Decorating

It’s been almost one year since I moved into my new house- my “anniversary” is in a little more than a week and I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone. I have loved watching all of the seasons change in my new place. I was thrilled to feel the temperature drop and see all of the amazing colors in my neighborhood last fall, trimming my own Christmas tree and keeping my little house cozy all winter long, and watching everything burst back to life again in the spring. I’m amazed by the garden that I have- lucky for me most of it was already established when I got here. I’ve added a small vegetable patch in the back yard and had tons of help from my family cleaning up the rest.

It’s been an amazing year, but there were some scary moments too.

-My basement flooded in February. My dad was sick in bed and my mom and I snuck out, bought a shop vac and sucked up inches of water from my basement without ever disturbing him! He needed the rest.

-A HUGE tree limb fell down in my front yard in the middle of the night one night and scared the living daylight out of me. My dad and I had to saw it into smaller pieces and haul it the backyard by ourselves. It has since provided several serious bonfires.

-Shortly after, a huge tree from my neighbor’s back yard fell into mine. Again with the sawing and hauling. This also cut out my internet and prevented me from watching stranger things for (GASP) two days.

-One more tree limb came crashing down just a few days later! It was a big piece of the mulberry tree in my back yard which I actually hate. It makes a huge mess and attracts tons of bugs. I am not devastated by this loss.

Yes, there were a few scary moments, but there were lots of amazing moments too! I was able to have a super fun celebration for the fireworks on the lake. My grandparents lived on a lake for most of my life, so we always had front row seats to some pretty fabulous fireworks. Since they both passed away, my family has been missing that special tradition, so I was very excited to re-start it, right in my front yard!

So while there have been some more stressful moments, overall I am so proud of the progress I’ve made on this little house. It feels more and more like my house every day and I look forward to adding more personal touches every year!

In October I shared the process of finding and buying my new home- and now I’m so excited to be able to decorate it for “The Most Wonderful Time of The Year”! My mom has always been a huge fan of decorating and interior design and has such a unique style; its always been an inspiration to me to watch her go absolutely over the top with her decor, especially at Christmastime. (I’ll have to share some pictures of her house too!)

My house is of course, no where near the size of my parents, so I haven’t been able to do quite as much as my wonderful mom, but I’ve enjoyed adding lots of festive little touches all the same.

I’m really loving a sort of “retro” Christmas look. As I seriously decorate my first grown-up home for real (SUPER overwhelming!) I’ve been drawn to a lot of Mid-Century Modern pieces and looks, and so I wanted to try to carry that look through my Christmas decor. I’ve collected quite few things from thrift stores and my parents basement, but can never stay away from the Target dollar spot or Homegoods either- so I’ve started to pull together a retro, maybe sort of kitschy look. It’s still a work in progress that I don’t really expect to perfect this year, but if my house didn’t already make me happy enough every time I walk in the door, the festive feel puts it completely over the top.